How Technology Changes What’s Possible

Since the late 1700s, the world has been locked in a dynamic set of upgrade loops as technologies change “what’s normal” to “what’s now.” A rural world gives way to a steam-powered and mechanized world, which becomes an industrial and mass-produced world, which then layers on electronics, computing, and media. Then add the internet and give the means of media production, through YouTube and social media, to the average person. Fast forward to today: we’re seeing the rise of powerful technologies that once again promise to transform what we do, how we do it, and the underlying society that supports us.

Steam power multiplied human and animal muscle. Electrification reorganized factories, cities, transportation, communications, and everyday life. Computing gave us an entirely new ability to create, process, and distribute information.

More than a century later, something similar happened in American garages. Returning GIs brought their knowledge of engine mechanics. People bought old cars, took them apart, added and built new parts, and made their cars go faster. They raced them, broke them, fixed them, and tried again. An enormous community grew around that enthusiasm: mechanics, machinists, racers, aftermarket manufacturers, magazines, parts stores, technical schools, and eventually entire companies.

Managing the Change Wave

Most of these people weren’t trying to become engineers or CEOs. They were doing it because it was fun. And while they were having fun, they were learning how machines worked. They developed the confidence to take something apart, understand it, modify it, and make it better.

We think our world is stable, but it’s not. These massive transitions occur roughly every 50 years, as new technologies layer on what came before and converge to create something new. While one generation believes the world is stable, their children are thrown into chaos. A collection of new technologies changes not simply what people can do, but what societies are capable of becoming.

But what allows societies to respond to those changes? It takes more than a single James Watt, Henry Ford, or Thomas Edison. The Industrial Revolution produced generations of machinists, mechanics, millwrights, engineers, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs who became fascinated by what machines could do. New skills spread through apprenticeships, workshops, factories, mechanics’ institutes, and experimentation. People learned these new technologies because the opportunities around them made learning valuable, and fun. The excitement of new tech and the joy of successfully solving a problem drove an explosion of home-grown talent that could advance the technology and integrate it into society.

We Are at Another One of Those Moments

Today, like in those other periods of inflection, several powerful new technologies are arriving at the same time. CAD gives almost anyone the ability to design complex objects. Affordable 3D printers can turn those designs into physical parts within hours. Inexpensive microcontrollers, sensors, motors, and electronics allow those parts to become machines. Robotics allows machines to sense and act upon the physical world. And now AI is dramatically lowering the barrier to learning and using all of them. A builder with a laptop and a modest collection of tools can possess capabilities that would have required an engineering department, a machine shop, and substantial capital only a generation ago.

Creating that same excitement, fun, and satisfaction of successfully solving problems can help our society catch the next wave. That ecosystem of tinkerers and experts can become the foundation we build the next generation of platforms upon.

Education has an important role to play in developing that talent.

States around the country already want to become centers for robotics, AI, advanced manufacturing, and related technologies. Political and business leaders increasingly recognize the jobs, investment, and new industries that can grow around these capabilities. Technological transformations create winners and losers. Countries, companies, communities, and individuals that learn to use new technologies can create new industries and opportunities. Those that don’t risk becoming increasingly dependent upon the people who do. So it becomes imperative that we create people who understand these technologies, can work with them, and are excited to discover what they can do with them.

Our Mission At ItGresa

Our mission at ItGresa is to help build that community. We believe in a hopeful vision of the future. Creating an ecosystem of builders, engineers, and innovators will help the world better manage the change upon us, and help create a better world.

We want to make it easier for schools and builders to succeed in competitive robotics by offering parts, kits, maintenance lists, technical content, buying guides, product information, and school and team support and sponsorships. We also want to make competitive robotics fun.

Make Innovating Fun

Education doesn’t have to begin with telling a twelve-year-old that robotics will prepare them for the workforce of 2040. The hot-rodders didn’t rebuild engines because America needed a technically skilled workforce. They did it because making a car faster was exciting. That’s the lesson worth remembering: make building fun.

Give people machines they can understand and own. Let them design things. Let them manufacture parts. Let them wire electronics, control motors, write software, compete, fail, repair what they broke, and try again. Give them classes where they can experiment and learn. Give them increasingly sophisticated tools as their ambitions grow. Provide them with tools and knowledge to get over the inevitable hurdles. And connect them with teachers, mentors, other builders, communities, and competitions that give them reasons to keep going.

Building the Next Generation of Builders

Schools can be one of the most powerful places to begin. But the culture we need extends beyond schools, into universities, clubs, makerspaces, garages, basements, competitions, and homes. The goal isn’t simply to create more robotics programs. It isn’t even to create more engineers. The goal is to help create another generation of builders and innovators: people excited by technology, confident enough to experiment with it, and equipped to build whatever comes next.

Our goal is to create more people who can say:

I understand this.

I built this.

I can make this better.

We invite schools, universities, and teachers of all kinds to consider starting or expanding your program with us. Our goal is to help you get started, and help you build your program. Not only will it benefit and excite your students, it will make a difference for society.

Ready to Get Started?

Have questions about setting up a safe, age-appropriate robotics program at your school? We’re happy to help.

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